Paul Toboni has made his first trade as general manager of the Washington Nationals, and it’s a big one. He sent closer Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners in search of top catching prospect Harry Ford and pitching prospect Isaac Lyon. There had been rumors that the Mariners were interested in the left-hander, but this was unexpected.
Entering his age-26 season, Ferrer is expected to be a closer for the national team. He had a 4.48 ERA last season, but the underlying numbers suggest he was very unlucky. His ground ball offense wasn’t the best fit for the Nationals’ poor infield defense.
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Ferrell should be a very important part of the Mariners bullpen for the next few years. He hasn’t even entered arbitration yet and is a flamethrower who gets a ton of ground balls. It makes sense why the Mariners would want him.
However, the rewards for him from the national team have been huge. The key figure here is catcher Harry Ford. The 2021 first-round pick ranks as the 42nd-best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. There are other rankings like Just Baseball where he’s ranked in the 60s, but he’s a consensus top 100 prospect.
He also fills the Nats’ biggest need, which is catcher. Cabot Ruiz’s performance has not improved since his contract extension. The move signals that the Ruiz era may be coming to an end.
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Ford hit .283 with an .868 OPS in Triple-A last year, so he’s ready for the majors. He also had a cup of coffee at Major League Baseball last September. However, Ford’s path to action in Seattle was blocked by the presence of Carl Rowley. With the Big Dumpers locked up for the long term, Ford was always a trade candidate.
He’s a guy I’d like in a potential Mackenzie Gore contract, but a deal to get him as a reliever is very exciting. Ford will likely be the Nats’ opening day starting catcher next year. He doesn’t have much to prove in the minor leagues, and the Nats have a glaring hole behind the plate.
Defensively, Ford has improved over the years and projects to be a solid defender, but not necessarily a Gold Glove. Interestingly, Ford is a good runner, which is very rare for a catcher. That’s a nice added bonus for the national team.
Lyon was more or less a throw-in. He was a 10th-round pick of the Mariners last year. The right hand has a funky arm groove, so maybe Paul Toboni likes something there. However, this is pretty much a Ford for Ferrell deal.
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This should be good for both teams, at least in my opinion. Ford projects as the starting catcher, something the Nats desperately need, while Ferrell should shine in the backfield of Seattle’s bullpen. It will be interesting to see how this trade develops in the coming years. Paul Toboni first made a splash in Washington.
